Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,069 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $24,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.9% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 32,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,691,000 after acquiring an additional 3,952 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 55.7% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,887 shares during the period. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 53,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,055,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 43,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the third quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 24,315 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $137.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.83. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $138.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. UBS Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.